TBT To Whoville City In Studio Hill 5

Magic were days of December 2018, when creatures from fairy tales would pop up at our door for a quick photo shoot and transform our stage into a never-land, or Whoville. Photographer Ferguson Sauve-Rogan had a pleasure to capture this fable is Hill 5.

A quick excerpt from about the shoot’s bio:

“Some people may call us crazy but, every year we try to out do the previous years Christmas card. And this year we went with the idea of “Who’s from Whoville”. We were fortunate enough to have a special effects team/friends who know their way around prosthetics and amazing hair/makeup. And with the help of another friend (who is also a film maker/DP) to shoot the whole thing, we were ready to go.”

Check out participants of the project:

photographer: Ferguson Sauve-Rogan | @fergusonsr | Website

model: Angela Noriega| @lil_dorkus_thephotog | Website

model: Gary Neil | @nohealii

mua: Roxanne | @roxannepike.mua

Makeup/Hair/Prosthetics: Jacquelyn Coon | @jackcoon

At the location:

Studio Hill 5 is one of the best option we have for creative crews on the budget. This Romantic White Stage has its windows facing South, which provides plenty of natural light for photographers. Among studio’s unique props are Gold Bellman Cart, White Decor Frames Wall, “Victoria Secret” like pink striped wall section and a pink upright piano. As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit stage Hill 5 on our website.

Josh Williams Fashion Photography

Another amazing set of photographs, captured in NYC studio 7 by talented photographer Josh Williams and his professional team. Check out his story below.

A snippet of Photographer’s story:

“Josh Williams is a Fashion and Portrait photographer based out of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is currently attending The Art Institute of Virginia Beach pursuing a BFA with a focus in Digital Photography. Four years of experience in the industry under his belt Josh Williams has gain some attention for himself working with numerous agencies and models throughout the east coast. Having a very minimal style consisting of mainly black and white images, he shows his unique ability to capture emotion and moments from his models that are monumental. ”

Members of the crew:

Photographer: Josh Williams / Joshandretti.com

Model Agency: State Management

Model: Alexia Olguin

Model: Lexa Henwood

Wardrobe Stylist: Suthee Rittaworn

Hair Stylist: Karla Serrano

Makeup Artist: Isabel Rosado

Elegant Magazine December Issue No. 14

The stage:

NYC Studio 7 also known as moroccan style stage, offers few unique features: conveniently installed by the window in our New York Studio 7 this shower setup opens up possibilities for your photography that were “drying up” before! As with any our other stages a standard package of three basic backdrops and three lights is available within the stage already. For more information visit NY Studio 7 on our website.

Become Better Photographer: Photography Pricing Pitfalls with Vanessa Joy

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with Vanessa on Instagram @VanessaJoy.

Continuing sensitive topic of pricing your photography services right, this lesson with Vanessa Joy and AdoramaTV will reveal 5 common pricing pitfalls many photographers (and artists in general) fall into.

#1 DO NOT make your pricing super complicated.

“Make sure you have packages, and a la carte, or if you’re not an a la carte person… fine, but just make it easy to read. Don’t talk too much, don’t type too much. Don’t send the 500 megabyte PDF. Make it simple. Make it clean!”

#2 DO NOT lower your prices

“A huge pitfall is thinking that because you raised your prices, a whopping $25, that’s why no one’s booking! Guess what? It’s not. There are a myriad of reasons why someone is not booking you. It’s probably not because you’re charging $10 more than the guy down the street. If somebody loves you, they love your work, they’re going to book you. Don’t make price the first thing that you attack, when you think you aren’t booking enough. Don’t lower your prices because you’re scared. I have seen photographers have success, and start booking more clients, because they’ve raised their prices. Don’t fall into that pitfall, don’t blow your prices just because you’re not booking. Instead of lowering your prices, find ways to be more valuable as a photographer.”

#3 DO charge more.

“The third pitfall is that you’re probably charging too little. Most people don’t take the time to do the math, and figure out their cost of sales, or cost of business and all of that. More often than not you’re actually charging too little for what you’re worth, and what the industry commands. A lot of people think that they’re charging too much, because they have a ton of money in their bank account, and that’s pitfall #4! “

#4 DO NOT overestimate your resources.

“Thinking you have more money than you actually have… You’re collecting sales tax, you’re collecting income tax, you’re collecting what you’re going to have to pay out in, in freelancers, and graphic designers, and products….All that money that you take, it feels like you’re rich, you’re not rich, what does 80% of that, is going out the door maybe you’re keeping 20% of it.”

#5 DO the math.

“Finally pitfall #5… You’re not doing the math… you have to do the math! You have to add up your cost of sales, add up your cost of business, the cost of business is all the subscription stuff that you buy. All the equipment that you buy here at Adorama. The album that you have to purchase, the canvas that you have to purchase, what it is that you pay in order to make the actual sale. So you have to do the math. Add it all up, and then add up how much you want to make per hour, add up how many hours you work on a typical job, and then that is the minimum price that you can charge. Adding your cost of sales, cost of business, and cost per hour.. that you want to make.”

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Learn how to Shoot on Manual Mode will take place on July 20th, 4-7pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with Vanessa Joy and Adorama TV:

Become Better Photographer: “Show Me the Money” with David Bergman

*For more information visit AdoramaTV YT page, and of course you can keep up with David on Instagram and Twitter @DavidBergman. LATEST UPDATE: David opened up new IGTV episodes where you can ask him questions live! find out more at http://www.AskDavidBergman.com

Although the life of a starving artist might seem romantic and “soulful” at first, at the end of the day if you cannot earn at least food and roof over your head by doing what you love, you would have to earn it by doing what you hate. To avoid this less romantic 9-5 cubicle the artist has to treat his art as a business with a net worth, and his art-work as a product with the set price.

Mr Bergman shares: “Every other industry in the world relies on money to be exchanged for goods and services… Why shouldn’t your business run the exact same way? The most important thing is to communicate with your clients even if it’s just your friends and family. Make sure you have that awkward conversation up front, before taking any pictures! “

David continues: “Explain to them that you’d be happy to do the photo session, and this is exactly what it’s going to cost. Then get a deposit from them up front, so they take you seriously and know you are there to work, and require payment upon delivery of the final images so that you don’t have to chase them down for payment after the fact. “

“Now setting a price for your services – that’s a whole different conversation, and you have to factor in a lot of things including usage, your overhead, and your level of experience, but keep in mind at all times – you’re the seller and they’re the buyer! You walk into any store in the world and there’s a price on each item and you can either choose to pay it or not. The owner of the store is not going to be offended if it’s out of your price range. Your business should run the exact same way. Sometimes the client will tell you what they’ll pay for photography, but I can’t think of any other industry where the client sets the price. Of course you can negotiate but try this as an experiment – call a plumber, tell them the pipes are leaking and you have fifty dollars in your budget for plumbing this month. if you even hear them laughing before they hang up the phone, I’ll be surprised!”

“Look at the end of the day, don’t be afraid to talk about money. You need to make money to be able to continue to do the work that you love. The more you talk about it the easier it will get, and you’ll find your clients will respect you and they’ll be willing to pay the appropriate price and everybody will be happy! “

Check out our WORKSHOPS in Los Angeles that teach you hands-on how to make great photos!

One of our closest workshops – Learn how to Shoot on Manual Mode will take place on July 20th, 4-7pm, in one of our Los Angeles studios !!!

Watch the full episode with David Bergman and Adorama TV:

Jessica M. Lopez’s Headshots

We are glad to hear that actress Jessica M. Lopez really enjoyed the versatility that our stage C has to offer. Green grass wall section, wood floor corner with antique table, and a huge cyc-wall can definitely squeeze in a lot of different looks into one photohoot.

Few words about the the studio from the client:

“As an actress, you constantly need new headshots and portraits. But, it’s never been easy to find a place that has good lighting as well as equipment, so I couldn’t be happier when I heard of the space FD Photostudio provides! Had my first photo session at one of their spaces two weeks ago after being referred by a photographer, and I absolutely loved it! Everyone was so welcoming and helpful, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the shots came out. Definitely making this place my new go-to!”

Follow:

model: Jessica M. Lopez @jessicamichel__

At the location:

Stage C was a choice of this creative collective for several reasons. Besides a tremendous space capacity perfect for both, large crews and small teams this stage provides a white CYC wall that is always freshly painted for each client. In addition to the prop count, a grass wall and a wood floor corned section installed for your creative exploration. With large South and East facing windows, this stage gets lots of natural light throughout the day. Find out more about stage C on our WEBSITE.

We just made Hill 8 UNFORGETTABLE

Glowing LED light wall available with Hill 8 photo studio rental

Truth be told, studio Hill 8 has become one of the most sophisticated, technologically innovative creative spaces we currently offer, thanks to these recent amazing additions.

Zig-zag LED-lit foil wall.

Equipped with a library of different color schemes, this LED setup is truly a spaceport for your cosmic flights. Ask our FD staff for an assistance to set it up and get your rocket ready. We are taking off!

New Concrete Corner with Vintage Motorcycle.

and

Leather&Metal Pilot Chair

Besides, this studio also features real-size red British phone booth, a dark wood barn door, and a few wooden barrels.

As any of our stages, Hill 8 comes with 3x strobe lights, 3x preinstalled paper seamless backdrops – white, black, grey, make up station with 2x chairs, and other amenities.

NEW PROPS: Grey Textured Fabric Backdrop in Studio Hill 6

Grey textured fabric backdrop available for rental with Hill 6 photo studio

Studio Hill 6 keeps getting better and better. Few weeks ago we have added a Moroccan style shower corner the nicely embellished the “glass floor” style of the studio.

Now we are adding a new cool feature – a grey textured fabric backdrop, positioned on the wall close to the entrance.

Other already iconic features of the studio include minimalistic pink & rose garland wall.

transparent egg-shaped hanging chair hung from the ceiling and floating above the ground.

Find out more about stage Hill 6 and its versatile looks/sections and book it now 🙂

Intimate Photo Shoot In NYC Studio 2

Designer and a photographer, Franklin Avery visited our “wood platform” stage for series of sensual and seductive photographs of a model Mia Monserrate.

Members of the crew:

photographer: Franklin Avery | @franklin_avery

model: Mia Monserrate | @miamonserrate

At the location:

NY Studio 2 known as “Wood Platform” studio is one of the busiest stages we currently offer. Equipped with everything you need for a perfect intimate, romantic or empowering style of photoshoot, this stage always leaves our clients excited and hungry for more time. Featuring a dark wood floor platform across the stage and a sexy purple boutique chair creates welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. A wall section with the brick veneer adds a flavor to this urban loft style. Among these unique features, the stage comes with great equipment – three strobe lights, three backdrops of white, grey and black color, sound system, makeup station and changing station. Have a look at New York Studio 2 on our website information, prices and availability.

Trevor James’s Music Video

A set of cool behind-the-scenes photos were shared by a guitarist and vocalist Trevor James, while shooting one of his music videos. Classic black&white shots of the artist surely coincide with his grungy rock’n’roll look.

A snippet of the artist’s story:

“I am an alternative rock guitarist and vocalist from Los Angeles. I have performed all over the world pretty much my whole life anywhere from Hawaii to Poland. I’m a bass player first so I’ve done a lot of tours with other artists but the past 2 years I have been putting all of my time into my own music to become the artist. The start of 2018 I release my album “Maxine” which was featured on Dash Radio,Afro punk, Singers Room and many others. It is currently available on all music downloading platforms. After in released my album I performed on “Jam in the Van” I had the pleasure of shooting my first music video at FD studios and it was incredible such an amazing space. Filming was my good Friend Eddie Reid and my model was Jessica. ”

Check out participants of the project:

model: Trevor James | instagram

The stage:

Stage Art 1 was a choice of location for this session. Adorned with features like white grand piano and three step podium this stage is a tool of versatility, provider of great natural light, benchmark of industrial Downtown minimalistic design. This space has its windows facing South and West and gets beautiful direct light during the PM hours, and great open-shaded light in the morning. Using strobes? No worries, we include 3 strobe lights in the hourly rate along with black, white and grey background available. Take a look at Stage Art 1 HERE to see what equipment is included in the hourly rate, as well as its availability and pricing.